Mac's First Hair Cut

In the midst of the December chaos, I realized something... It was something I had denied for quite some time, and I wasn't able to ignore it any longer... Mac had a mullet. It was time to take him for a trim. My baby. Another inevitable sign of him getting bigger and older.

Amy is our friend at Hair Junkie, and she's cut our hair for years. We knew she would be the perfect person to share in this big milestone. ;-) 

{Yes, I'm always this sentimental about our kids.}

 Mac's before... a mullet to the side, if you will.

 He's all finished, and he knows he was such a big boy!

I have his sweet hair in a special pouch. Who knows why except that it's his first precious baby hair.

as always,

ashley

Ragnar 2012

Ragnar Relay Series is a group who travels all over doing relay races across cities and states. Each race has different mileage, and the Chattanooga to Nashville run is just over 195 miles. There are teams of 12, and each runner is given a predestined distance. One may only run 5 miles, but it could be determined 'hard' with a lot of hills. Another runner may have 8 or 10 miles, and it could be a pretty flat run.

I did this race in 2010, took a postpartum break in 2011 and fully committed in 2012. Honestly, my memory of the 2010 race wasn't great, and I was a nervous wreck for this year. Nerves and insecurity are two great motivators for me to get out there and TRAIN. So my dear friend, Sarah, and me worked our tails off- running in the dark, at night, early morning, afternoons, rain, cold, heat. We did it, and we were ready!

I hadn't 'trained' to leave my babies behind, though, and this was the FIRST time I'd left Mac and Paisley- at 15 months. 

Can you guess which of these is not like the other?? I came into the play area and found her like this.

 Back to Ragnar... 

The sun was rising, and it was time to start. 

(There are about 200 teams, and start times are staggered based on when each time estimated they'll finish)

Here's my dad and me before he started us off!

 Our team! Minus a few who stayed home to sleep. Lazy. ;-)

From left: Jordan, Jeremy, Mike, Sarah, Jeff, Me, Dad, Becca (holding Logan) and Brandon. 

 Leg one runners at the start! Dad is in the neon yellow jacket on the far left.

 He's OFF!

 See you in about 8 miles!

Dad finished and handed off to Jeff. I was next! Pardon my goofy expression. 

 Next was Sarah. Because I love pictures and this was Sarah's first race, I have many photos of her.

 While encouraging her, Jeremy asked Sarah if she wanted a hamburger from Hardees here. Seriously.

 Look at the beauty we run thru! 

 After your run, you finish in the 'hand off station'. The next runner is standing there to get your slap bracelet and take off. Here, Sarah has finished, and Mike is starting his turn. 

 Good luck, Mike!

 Waiting for Mike's arrival.

 Here he comes!! 

 Now Jeremy is off!

 At the end of our van's run (there are two vans, six runners in each), the second van started their six legs. We went to Adrianne and Chris' house to shower, rest, eat and visit. The Cowans have been on our Ragnar team in the past, and hopefully they'll return next year :o)

Thanks, friends, for letting us rest and prep for the rest of the race in your home.

At about midnight, our van was finishing our second legs. After handing off the 'baton', we went to a hotel and napped for a couple of hours. Then we got the (dreaded) phone call that we needed to leave and start our last legs.

 The sun had set, and so was our exhaustion... Here we are after my last leg (WHEW), and Sarah is about to start her's... It is about 6 in the morning.

 Sarah ran thru the country side of Nashville as the sun rose. Beautiful. Hilly. 

 It wasn't a crazy hour of the day, and I got to facetime with the kiddos. Mac was the only one who stayed in the screen long enough for me to get a picture. 

 My first meal since Thursday's dinner before the race. We ate at New York Cafe and Deli. It looks cholesterol and fat filled, and I'm confident it was. It was fried eggs on a bagel topped with bacon and hollandaise sauce plus side of fried  hash browns. I could hardly eat a quarter of this. It was a LOT of food I never eat and very rich. It was one of those times you order whatever you want and don't care- and that's exactly what I did. 

 After our legs, we went back to Jordan's brother's house and showered and napped. 

 Here's our team- finally finished!!

It was Jeremy's birthday so we celebrated over lunch at Toot's before heading home.

Fun times, y'all! 

as always,

ashley

What's Up

What is up... well, a lot. I get behind with posts, feel overwhelmed, then remind myself why I do it. It's for our kids when they grow up, us when they grow up, and our family and friends to see what we're doing. Then there's of you who have never met us, but you read. I love the comments, posts and emails I get from you. Thank you. 

My last post shared a new venture I've started, and it's definitely a dream come true. I am SO excited about Southern Stamp {I'll probably label it SSE in posts}. 

Here are pictures from the past couple of weeks, and of course we are supporting SSE. I had to practice and learn somehow. 

M&P have turned into such mischievous little ones. They are always working together to get out of a baby gate, pull everything out of a drawer or pull things off a surface. They are way faster than me most of the time. :o/

I found them like this one day. I was washing the sheets, and our duvet was on the floor at the foot of our bed. Apparently they liked the fluff. Cutie pies. 

Just a typical hot spot...

One of the last warm days we've had. I'm tring to get the last few wears out of my favorite summer outfits of their's. These adorable onesies are from my freshman year college roommate, support group leader, friend for 10 years, and amazing mama to Tobin- Katie aka Kate. 

What is the face P is giving me here?? Haha, she's SO full of it! Paisley LOVES to climb, rock on a rocking horse, and spin.

Mac loves his spaghetti. We have to hide when we eat in front of him. Even if he has food, he wants what we have. I'm not kidding. He will scream and fuss until we share. It's not that we don't want to share, but he can't eat steak. They often eat whatever we are eating, but I prepare it for them to be able to pick up and chew. Sometimes I just want to scarf something quick down without sharing. I said it. Guilty as charged. 

Happy babies love bath.. especially when we dance and sing for them. 

These days... Paisley started taking several steps! She started on October 22, and she took 4 steps. Then Friday {Jordan's birthday, October 26} she walked across the room! I have a video of it I'll share. Paisley says: Dada, Mama, Nana {not sure if it's my mom or banana}, Mac, Lilly, uh oh, thank you, and stop. She also has full conversations with anyone who will listen- eventhough we don't have a clue as to what she's saying. We just listen and respond 'Really? Yes!" and so on. 

Mac is a sensitive boy. He cries if I give him the 'mama look' while P usually giggles when I do it to her. :-/

Mac says: Mama, Dada, and Nana. He still grunts. It isn't in a negative way. He knows it makes us laugh so he does it, then he cracks himself up. Mac gets the hiccups when he laughs a lot. He even throws up because he laughs so hard. It doesn't stop him, though. He keeps laughing. We do settle him down when he throws up, though.

M&P watch each other all the time. If one takes a drink, the other does it too. If one doesn't like a food, the other often turns his/her nose up at it. Paisley talks to Mac all the time. He sits and listens or laughs like he knows what she's saying. He probably does. It's precious.

Lilly Scott adores them, and they feel the same. They watch her every move and want to be with her every chance. Lilly Scott says some hilarious things that I post of facebook, but I am compiling them for a "Lilly-isms" post. I have to share some of the things that she says. 

Thanks for reading! 

as always, 

ashley 

THE First Birthday Party!!

The giveaway post is still up and the giveaway is open for entries until Thursday!
Click HERE for the post.

Well, friends, here it is!! I haven't stopped looking at pictures all week, and I finally have our CD of images from Studio D Photography! I am SO excited to share with you! I am a huge first birthday bash fan, and we can say we did it! Lilly Scott had a super first birthday, and so did Mac and Paisley.
We are blessed to have had such assistance in planning and executing the best birthday I could've imagined! I put together a lot of the decor from PDF files sent by Joanne at Oh Goodie Designs. Joanne made the banners, straw flags, party hats and cake toppers.
Mac and Paisley's outfits were made by April at Cuddle Bug Gifts. She does amazing work, and I trusted her with making two very special outfits for us :o) She even made LS a matching dress.
Leslie, Sarah, Carsen, Bailey and Ashley- thank you SO much for helping me get party stuff put together! To all of the incredible family and friends who came to help us set up- we know who you are- thank you, thank you!
We also want to thank those of you who have been a part of such an incredible year.
We included those who have played such a role in our lives at the party, and we are blessed by you.
Now for the fun stuff~
Party time!!



Here's the invitation. I had to take a picture of the invitation in a frame so the colors don't look as vibrant as they are in person. 

 Annnnd welcome to our party!

The dessert buffet table

 Every month's birthday picture hung on a banner over the dessert table.

We served sparkling pineapple lemonade and chilled bottled water.

 It's about details, my friends :o)
Top left: I printed pictures from throughout the year and hung them from clothespins that I spray painted white and decorated with a cup cake topper cut out.
Bottom left: Gift table with an enlarged and framed invitation
Center: Balloons! So fun.
Right: Centerpieces- a pinwheel in a mason jar with Eurofloras and carnations.

The weather was very pretty, and who can pass up a snow cone in August??

I made the tissue poms, and the white lanterns were from Luna Bazaar.

"Happy Birthday" banner over the gift table

Our Paisley Grace

Our Mac Man

Family and Friends

Funny faces!

Smash Cakes!!

Taste test!

Guess who quickly became a fan???

P was too excited {or distracted} to eat up. She was more worried about the icing on her hands... From the one who uses 8493 napkins a day, it must be genetic.  

 I made collages of my favorite smash cake moments :o)

And the paparazzi-

 Thanks for 'coming to our party'!



-ashley